State and Local

September 5, 2019 — It’s not just that proposed federal rules intended to protect endangered right whales from entanglement with fishing gear will be expensive and difficult to implement, industry representatives say. It’s also that they won’t work.

That’s the argument Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, made in a letter sent to NOAA Fisheries on Friday.

The proposed rules came from a meeting in April of a federal stakeholder group, the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, which includes McCarron and four other Maine lobster industry representatives. That Maine delegation is now withdrawing support from the “near-consensus” plan, McCarron wrote.

“The Agency’s current rulemaking does not address the full scope of known human causes of the decline in the species and will be insufficient to reverse the right whale population’s downward trend,” she wrote.

At the April meeting, McCarron notes, the full group recommended that NOAA Fisheries “revisit the Team’s recommendations if revisions to the model suggest … a distinctly different understanding of risk” to the whales.

September 5, 2019 — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today called on the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP) to immediately act to protect the North Atlantic right whale, a species on the brink of extinction.

In a letter sent today to NEG/ECP, AG Healey asks the coalition to issue a resolution committing to measures that significantly expand current right whale protections by further reducing the risk of collisions with ships and fishing gear entanglements – the two most significant threats to the survival of the species. The species is facing “conservation crisis,” with six North Atlantic right whales found dead in the month of June alone. Four had previously survived multiple gear entanglements. There are approximately 400 North Atlantic right whales remaining, and only about 95 are breeding females, making it one of the world’s most endangered mammals. Nearly 85 percent of right whales have been entangled at least once, and nearly 60 percent have been entangled twice or more. The climate crisis has also pushed the whales further north, exposing them to increased risks in waters with fewer protections.

“Only coordinated immediate action will save the North Atlantic right whales from extinction,” AG Healey said. “Massachusetts already has some of the strongest protections for right whales, but a real solution requires a regional approach to protect the species. That’s why I’m calling on the New England Governors and the Eastern Canadian Premiers to commit to protect these whales.”

September 5, 2019 — An organization that represents Maine’s lobster fishermen is pulling its support of a proposed plan to protect endangered whales.

The subject of North Atlantic right whale conservation has been a major source of contention for the lobster fishery in Maine, which supplies by far the most U.S. lobster. There are only about 400 of the whales, which are prone to entanglement in fishing gear.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has taken a closer reading of the science behind the plan, which a federal team recommended in April, and believes it places too much of the onus on lobster fishermen, association executive director Patrice McCarron said.

September 4, 2019 — The salinity levels of water dictate what lives in and around it, and what doesn’t.

If there’s a lot of rain or a sudden surge of fresh water into a bay, salinity levels drop. If there’s a drought a surge of seawater from a major storm, salinity levels tend to rise. Climate change is already altering those balances.

And the changes wrought by those disruptions can be profound.

Earlier this year, heavy rains in the Midwest swelled the Mississippi River. To prevent flooding in New Orleans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway, west of the city, twice this year. That sent a torrent of fresh water into the waters off Louisiana and Mississippi, west of Biloxi – and created a disaster along the oyster reefs in the area.

September 4, 2019 — On Friday, Aug. 30, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association officially withdrew its support from a federal proposal to reduce fishery impacts on the North Atlantic right whale biomass, citing NMFS data that shows the proposal would not be effective in reducing right whale mortality.

“NMFS own data show that that the lobster fishery is the least significant cause of right whale serious injury or mortality,” said Patrice McCarron, the association’s president, “while ship strikes, gillnets and the Canadian snow crab fishery pose much greater risks.”

September 4, 2019 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is withdrawing its support for a proposed right whale protection plan, claiming it was rushed into voting in favor of major fishing restrictions without adequate time to review the science behind the plan.

Upon review, the state’s largest lobstering trade group expressed its displeasure with the plan, saying it is based on error-prone data, untested science and documentation that is biased against the lobster industry.

The association says the government unfairly focuses federal right whale conservation efforts on Northeast lobstering without fully investigating and documenting other threats to the species and its habitat, from Canadian crab fishers and shipping vessels to seismic testing and offshore wind projects.

September 4, 2019 — Now the shuffling begins at Alaska fisheries offices around the state as the effects from the state’s veto volleys become more clear.

For the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, an $85 million budget, about half of which is from state general funds, reflects a $997,000 dollar cut for FY 2020. Where and how the cuts will play out across Alaska’s far-flung coastal regions is now being decided by fishery managers.

“Now that the salmon season is about over, we’re taking a good close look at this and what we’re going to put in the water next season. We’ve been assured we can look at our commfish budget in total and reduce the lowest priority projects,” said Doug Vincent-Lang, department commissioner.

Some layoffs are likely, and vacancies and retiree positions may not be filled to save money, he added.

September 4, 2019 — Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports to Congress on the status of U.S. fisheries. The report breaks the data down by region, and highlights which stocks are in “overfishing” and “overfished” status, as well as which stocks have been rebuilt.

The 2018 report, released in August, shows an Alaska stock was just added to the nation’s overfished list.

Krista Milani, a natural resource specialist with NOAA Fisheries in Unalaska, said the recently released report shows the number of U.S. fish stocks subject to overfishing remains at a near all-time low — meaning there are a lot of healthy, sustainable populations. But in Alaska, it’s not all good news.

“For the Alaska region, we didn’t have any fisheries that were in overfishing status, but we do have two stocks that are considered overfished,” Milani said.

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (D-NY):

“New York’s commercial fishing industry is a critical driver of our economy that has been held back by outdated federal restrictions for decades. The hardworking men and women of this industry deserve equitable treatment so they can succeed and grow their businesses and continue to boost their local economies.

“New York will continue to challenge this unfair quota and explore every avenue to ensure that New York’s access to summer flounder is consistent with national standards and our state’s fishing industry can continue to thrive.”

September 3, 2019 — I bet you didn’t know that New Jersey’s commercial saltwater fishing industry generated $6.2 billion in 2018 according to the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration, placing New Jersey fifth in the U.S. in commercial fishing production. That’s a lot of fish, and a lot more than fish.

“The Jersey Seafood industry is a tremendous benefit to the state’s economy with the responsible supply that is landed in our state each year,” NJ Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher said. “New Jersey is among the leaders in the country in several seafood categories because of our hard-working commercial fishermen and successful seasons year after year.”

In 2017, the total seafood catch in New Jersey was 198.6 million pounds placing New Jersey 10th in the country for catch. New Jersey ranks No. 1 in the nation in quahogs landed at 16.5 million pounds, second in sea scallops landed with 11 million pounds, second in Atlantic mackerel landed at 2.8 million pounds, second in surf clam harvest with more than 18.3 million pounds, and second in squid commercial landings at 24.9 million pounds.